Instability of spatial patterns and its ambiguous impact on species diversity

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Self-arrangement of individuals into spatial patterns often accompanies and promotes species diversity in ecological systems. Here, we investigate pattern formation arising from cyclic dominance of three species, operating near a bifurcation point. In its vicinity, an Eckhaus instability occurs, leading to convectively unstable "blurred" patterns. At the bifurcation point, stochastic effects dominate and induce counterintuitive effects on diversity: Large patterns, emerging for medium values of individuals' mobility, lead to rapid species extinction, while small patterns (low mobility) promote diversity, and high mobilities render spatial structures irrelevant. We provide a quantitative analysis of these phenomena, employing a complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.
4 pages, 3 figures and supplementary information. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.

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Populations and Evolution, Statistical Mechanics, Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems, Biological Physics

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http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/167965

Consulte el texto completo en el siguiente enlace:

https://arxiv.org/abs/0807.0122
 http://arxiv.org/abs/0807.0122
 Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 058102 (2008)
 doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.058102

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arXiv